Preplanning Guide

National Hospice and Palliative Care Month Spotlight

In recognition
of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, South Park Funeral Home and
Cemetery wishes to acknowledge Veronica Stephenson at Hallmark Hospice for her accomplishments
in hospice & palliative care.

Veronica has worked in the hospice profession for a little over 1
year. She was inspired to work in this field by her interactions with the hospice patients,
and aspired to be a hospice nurse.

What are some
of the powerful emotions you have gone through?

Some
of the emotions I have experienced would be sympathy, compassion, gratefulness,
and I have felt very honored to have been able to share special intimate
moments with patients and their family.

What are some
things you do to take care of yourself emotionally so that you can continue to
help others in your profession?

In order to continue helping
others in my profession; I pray, meditate, exercise, and spend time with
family, friends and my dog. I also cook,
baking, sewing, craft projects and gardening.

What has been
the biggest challenge for you and why?

One of the biggest challenges
is getting the patient late in their disease process, when we could have helped
them much earlier with symptom management, care issues, and other supportive
measures.

What do you
believe has been your key to having great relationships with your patients?

I believe everyone should
have the opportunity to be loved, have dignity and respect.

How do you
motivate yourself?

I have the opportunity to
assist a patient and their family in the transition from this life into the
next. Knowing that I can make the
difference from a traumatizing death experience to a comfortable, peaceful
death.

Looking back
on the first person in your care, how would you say you have evolved from that
moment and in which ways?

From the beginning to now, I
have learned each person has a very different view of what their end of life
should be like. It is my job to make sure that those wishes are respected and
carried out

What advice
would you give someone who is considering hospice service in the near or far
future?

The benefits of hospice are to allow patient’s comfort
and dignity in the last days of their life.
Also, support measures for the family regarding emotional, spiritual and
bereavement services are offered to help them through this transition.